St. Irene Monastery Held Christmas Luncheon

St. Irene Monastery Held Christmas Luncheon

By Catherine Tsounis

            “Greek Orthodox Churches open, not close. St. Cosmas  (of Aetolia) said ‘Things will come out of the schools that your mind does not even imagine.’ Schools build a community,” said V. Rev. Archimandrite Ierotheos Zacharis, Abbot of the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Orthodox Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou, under the Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, at their Christmas Luncheon. The event was held on Sunday, December 8^th at 1 p.m. at the Stathakion Center, 22-51 29^th Street, Astoria, New York. All proceeds will support the mission of the Monastery and the Greek School. Over two hundred persons attended.

            A unique choral performance by the Hellenic Voices of Long Island Concert, taken from their June concert on the 90^th Anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, was deeply moving. Konstantinos Fotiadis is Choir Master. “I am a Pontian from Serres, Greece,” he said. Listening to the song “Opa, Opa, Bournovalia” brought back memories of my Chiotisa/Mikrasiatisa grandmother. The Byzantine heritage is kept alive at St. Irene’s Orthodox Monastery.

            Dr. Vasiliki Filiotis, is Principal of St. Irene Chrysovalantou School and President of the Hellenic Paideia of America Organization. St. Irene Chrysovalantou School is known for creating some of the finest Modern Greek scholars in the metropolitan area and possibly in the United States. Their knowledge of spoken and grammatical Greek is exceptional.

            Principal Vasiliki Filiotis, explained “We believe in the strengthening, development and implementation of preschool programs where Greek language and culture is taught through play, song, reading and writing. St. Irene Chrysovalantou School has an effective Greek program highly rated in Astoria, New York.  The work of an educator is a ministry. The Greek educator gives his soul to his students. The educator tries to instill a love of Greece, the Greek heritage and the virtues of our ancient Greek philosophers. For this purpose, the he/she needs the Greek-American community to stand by him/her.”

     “The Hellenic Paideia of America Organization aims to promote Greek language, literature, history, art and science,” Dr. Filiotis explained. “A joint cooperation will be created with Greek-American organizations. The Hellenic Paideia of America Organization’s goal is to encourage Greek-Americans and their friends to speak the Greek language. We must leave an inheritance to the next generation” All interested persons can contact President Filiotis at [email protected].

            The Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Orthodox Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou is under the Jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The V. Rev. Archimandrite Ierotheos Zacharis is the Abbot. The monastery is located at 36-07 23^rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105-1916. The telephone is (718) 626-6225 and Facsimile: (718) 626-7669, E-mail: [email protected]

Links:

https://www.helleniccomserve.com/greekmusicartsmain.html

Hellenic Voices of Long Island:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz1WjH-ESFE –  Hellenic Voices of Long Island Concert on the 90^th Anniversary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe

https://www.qgazette.com/news/2013-05-22/Front_Page/Unique_Good_Friday_Service_At_St_Irenes_Church.html

https://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/48531.htm- St. Cosmas  of Aetolia.

Photo 1 – J. Kotsaridis, Rev. Demosthenes, M. Raptis, G. Filiotis, Presvitera Ballas, Rev. Gerasimos Ballas, Abbot Ierotheos, V. Filiotis, Despina Stavrou, A. Mavrelis, Dr. S. Katsifis, Dr. J. Angelidis, E. Angelidis and Prof. Foley enjoyed the Luncheon